WWE Royal Rumble 2018: Matches & Predictions

The 2018 Royal Rumble card is, quite simply, stacked.

Of course the marquee match of the show is the one bearing the PPV’s name. But then there’s the added bonus of the women getting to compete in a Royal Rumble match of their own. That means 30 men and 30 women will battle it out in their respective matches to gain a World Championship and Women’s Championship opportunity at ‘Mania 34. Speaking of championships, AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship in a Handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. As for the Universal Championship, its holder (Brock Lesnar) will compete in a Triple Threat Match against two fellow behemoths – Braun Strowman and Kane.

I’m here to break down those aforementioned bouts and the rest of the card in this preview piece for the 2018 Royal Rumble event.

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Bobby Roode (c) vs. TBD (Open Challenge for the WWE United States Championship)

Predictions & Winner: The “GLORIOUS!” US Champion is currently riding high over on the Blue Brand. And as a fighting champion, he’s open to any and all challengers. This Open Challenge situation rarely happens. It’s always cool to see someone unexpected stroll down the ramp and answer that challenge. I think Roode’s going to come face to face with the man who caused all this US Championship madness in the first place – Dolph Ziggler! Ziggler’s not going to be able to claim the title he left behind back in 2017, though. Roode’s retaining in this one.

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Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder)

Predictions & Winners: Man…Raw 25 was hot garbage, wasn’t it? One of the worst parts of that celebration (and I use that term loosely) was the utter burial of The Revival. That one really hurt. So now we’re back to that whole ordeal (minus the entirety of DX/The Clique). WWE loves them some 50-50 booking, so you can expect to see The Revival get a small dosage of their heat back when they beat Gallows and Anderson here.

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Kalisto, Lince Dorado, and Gran Metalik vs. TJP, Gentleman Jack Gallagher, and Drew Gulak (6-Man Tag Team Match)

Predictions & Winners: *flips a coin* AH, IT’S HEADS! Kalisto, Dorado and Metalik FTW! Kinda figured that they’d hold some sort of Gauntlet Match to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion since Enzo’s gone, but oh well…

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The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin (2-out-of-3-Falls Match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship)

Predictions & Winners: So Daniel Bryan did the right thing by giving Gable and Benjamin another WWE SmackDown Tag Team title shot against The Usos. The shenanigans that occurred during the last match between those teams led to Gable and Benjamin thinking they’d won the titles. But the referee’s error during that moment led to the bout getting restarted, which led to The Usos retaining (regaining?) their titles. In order to make sure no more tomfoolery takes place, The Usos vs. Gable and Benjamin rematch will take place under 2-out-of-3-Falls rules.

This one looks like it could be a dark horse contender for Match of the Night (if they get enough time to deliver greatness). I’m betting on Gable and Benjamin scoring the first pinfall, then The Usos nabbing the second one. That’ll expectedly lead to the third and final fall, which will ultimately lead to The Usos pulling out the big win and defeating Gable and Benjamin once again. This feud will probably go on for a few extra weeks afterward until The Usos’ next challengers emerge – Harper and Rowan, The Bludgeon Brothers.

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Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan (c) vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)

Predictions & Winners: Anyone else think this match is slowly turning into a Triple Threat Match at some point? Cesaro and Sheamus have taken two shocking losses to Crews and O’Neil (WORLDWIDE!), which should make them eligible to get a shot at the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, right? Kind of strange that this bout is still being contested among the champs and the two challengers who lost unexpectedly.

Anyways, we’re still going to get this match at the Rumble. Cesaro and Sheamus have been at it with Rollins and whoever’s been partnering with him for a good while now. The random duo of Rollins and Jordan is an odd pairing that really haven’t been on the same page. I see this match furthering the eventual heel turn of Jordan, who’ll end up costing Rollins the match and gaining an enemy in Rollins. So Cesaro and Sheamus will get the titles back, Jordan will get verbally lambasted by Rollins, Angle’s going to book them for the next PPV, and Jordan’s going to lash out at his Pops for it.

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AJ Styles (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Handicap Match for the WWE Championship)

Predictions & Winner: Owens and Zayn have turned into one of the more entertaining aspects of Tuesday nights. They’ve caused plenty of headaches for Shane McMahon and fractured the relationship between him and Daniel Bryan. The other entertaining component of SmackDown, WWE Champion AJ Styles, has been handed back-to-back losses by Owens and Zayn due to some outside distractions. Due to his frustration, AJ yelled out a match idea in a sarcastic manner that pushed Daniel to actually book it. So now AJ’s set to defend his WWE Championship in a Handicap Match against both Owens and Zayn. So it’s easy to see how this one’s going to go down – Owens and Zayn will go back and forth on offense as they wear down the champ.

AJ will make some comebacks here and there, but will most likely have his ass handed to him more than anything. Then those moments of dissension will arise when Owens and Zayn try to pin AJ, which will lead to broken up pins and in-ring arguments. Even though either men can get the pin and turn their team into a co-WWE Champion duo, Owens’ inflated ego will push him to nab the winning pin. Owens and Zayn’s constant arguing will lead to their downfall, which will push AJ to take advantage and ultimately come out on top. I do sense some sort of outside interference from Daniel and Shane, but this time it won’t work out in Owens and Zayn’s favor. All I know is this – Shane’s eventually turning heel on Daniel and setting up a match against him at ‘Mania 34.

2018 Women’s Royal Rumble Match (30-Woman Royal Rumble Match for a Women’s Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)

Predictions & Winner: The Women’s Revolution is still going strong! We got two Women’s Championships, then there were two Money in the Bank Ladder matches for the ladies in 2017. For 2018, the women of Raw and SD Live will be competing in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble. Judging by the field of competitors revealed thus far, here’s my picks for the ones most likely to win – Asuka and Nia Jax. Yep…THAT’S IT! I honestly can’t see any of the other announced entrants in this match rising up to get the victory. But then there’s the element of surprise. And by surprise, I mean shocking names that’ll pop up and make fans like me change their pick for the winner. My gut’s telling me that a few NXT women will pop up – the iconic duo of Peyton Royce and Billie Kay, plus Nikki Cross and Bianca Belair seem the most likely.

And then there’s the rumors surrounding Ronda Rousey of all people showing up! While I’m starting to believe all the hooplah about her joining WWE for a career change in wrestling, I don’t think Dana White’s let her go completely free yet. So the chances of her showing up during this Royal Rumble match are slim to none for me. But what about the veteran surprises, you say? Victoria can still hang, so she seems like the most likely candidate to jump into the fray. Nevertheless, let me get to my pick for the winner of the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble. Asuka’s mega push will continue with her being the last woman standing. And I might sound crazy with this second prediction, but I think she’s going to take aim at Charlotte and her SD Live Women’s Championship. Now there’s a dream match for WrestleMania 34!

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Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Kane (Triple Threat Match for the WWE Universal Championship)

Predictions & Winner: I’m so conflicted here. If last year’s letdown of a first time bout between Strowman and Lesnar never happened, it would have been even better if it happened here. The added element of Kane does nothing for me since he’s way past his prime and no longer a threat to anyone/anything. Nevertheless, I’m still slightly interested in seeing this match erupt into an in-ring monster mash. Lesnar tends to shine during multi-man matches (see his Royal Rumble 2015 match and last year’s SummerSlam main event for proof), plus watching Strowman wreck fools is always fun. This one’s pretty easy to predict – Kane’s obviously taking the pinfall here. He’s the extra warm body in the match that will do some damage here and there. But Kane will ultimately play the part of a veteran who’s giving back by making the champ and Strowman look better after the final bell rings. Lesnar’s definitely retaining here.

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2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match (30-Man Royal Rumble Match for a World Championship Match at WrestleMania 34)

Predictions & Winner: And now we’re getting into the real nitty gritty. The show is named after this match after all! So the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble features some major names from both main brands, of course. Raw’s standout entrants includes John Cena, Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, and The Miz. The Blue Brand’s best includes Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. The rest of the field should be filled out with NXT Superstars and a surprise or two (MVP got called in for Raw 25 to play cards with the APA. Wonder if WWE threw some extra cash his way for a Rumble appearance…). I’m picturing developmental talent such as Lars Sullivan, No Way Jose, Pete Dunne, and Tyler Bate being the extra bodies this Rumble needs.

Now there’s the whole matter of selecting a winner. And for me, that honor has to go to Shinsuke Nakamura. Even though there hasn’t been a strong push towards him winning, I feel as if WWE will throw us a curveball by making him the victor. You can look at Randy Orton’s leadup to the 2017 Rumble for a good example of Nakamura’s storyline treatment going into this Rumble. Doing nothing really of note, then coming out of nowhere to win the whole thing should be expected. WWE’s doing another Rumble in Philly here and we all know they don’t want a repeat of Roman Reigns’ victory the last time they were in Philly. While he’ll be in the match, I don’t see him winning. But I still get the feeling that he’ll find a way to face Lesnar for the Universal Championship at ‘Mania 34. Which leaves Nakamura to face AJ for the WWE Championship in a rematch that NJPW fans have been wanting to see. So there you have it! Another SD Live talent is winning the Rumble a year after that instance took place.